Extensions do not need govt’s approval: Army

[sonicboom]

Extensions do not need govt’s approval: Army

Sunday, February 21, 2010
ISPR clarifies only promotions require ratification

By Ahmad Noorani

ISLAMABAD: As promotions of senior officials in the Army are becoming the centre of focus in the national politics, the Pakistan Army has officially clarified that extension in services of lieutenant generals is purely the prerogative of the Army chief and does not need the federal government’s approval.

Director-General Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) Maj-Gen Athar Abbas told The News that the COAS can extend the service of any serving lieutenant-general without any ratification from the federal government. “The cases of promotion are sent to the federal government for approval, but, according to rules, there is no need to get approval in case of extension in service of a lieutenant-general,” the Army spokesman said.

This issue is being considered very important because the extension in service of any of the lieutenant generals retiring this year would have significant impact on the present seniority list.

Lt-Gen Ahsan Azhar Hayat, Lt-Gen Tanvir Tahir, Lt-Gen Mohammad Ashraf Saleem and Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha are retiring in March this year; Lt-Gen Ijaz Ahmad Baksh and Lt-Gen Nadeem Ahmed in May; and Lt-Gen Masood Aslam, Lt-Gen Shahid Iqbal, Lt-Gen Zahid Hussain and Lt-Gen Mohammad Asghar are retiring in October this year.

The ISPR chief’s statement has also raised question marks on some news reports that a summary for the extension in services of some top Army generals is being or has been sent to the Prime Minister Secretariat through the Ministry of Defence.

It has also been reported that Lt-Gen Masood Aslam, Corps Commander Peshawar, was given extension last year by the COAS without any approval from the federal government.

The second most important issue is the appointment of CJCSC which would definitely have an impact on the appointment of COAS. This appointment will be made six weeks prior to the appointment of the Army chief (if the PPP government does not extend the service of General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani who is retiring on November 28, 2010).

The incumbent CJCSC General, Tariq Majeed, will retire on October 8, 2010. Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz told The News that after creation of this office some thirty years back, this position was given to the services chiefs in rotation. However, during the tenures of Gen Zia and Gen Musharraf this criteria was not followed and this office remained with the Pakistan Army.

Lt-General Hamid Nawaz was of the view that this time the position should be offered to some top official of the Pak Navy or the PAF keeping in view the tradition of democratic governments in the past.

This issue is being considered very important as this position could be used to manipulate the appointment of the COAS. If a junior officer is pushed up, others may be forced to retire, thus creating space for the desired officer, many analysts think.

According to Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid, a major-general is retired on reaching the age of 57 while a lieutenant general is retired either on reaching the age of 58 or completing the four-year tenure, whichever comes first. He explained that if a major-general is promoted as lieutenant general at the age of 56 he will be retired after two years on becoming 58 and if he was promoted as lieutenant general at the age 52 he will stand retired after four years at the age of 56.

Hamid said that the COAS is always made form the armoured, artillery or infantry corps of the Pakistan Army and lieutenant-generals from the engineering or services corps are not considered.

Following this principle and considering all lieutenant-generals who will retire this year, the seniority list will be as follows on November 28, 2010 (the date Gen Kayani will retire):

1- Lt-Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne (retiring on March 8, 2011)

2- Lt-Gen Muhammad Yousaf (retiring on March 8, 2011)

3- Lt-Gen Syed Absar Hussain (retiring on March 8, 2011—never commanded any core)

4- Lt-Gen Javed Zia (retiring on Sep 21, 2011—never commanded any core)

5- Lt-Gen Shujaat Zamir Dar (retiring on Sep 21, 2011—never commanded any core)

6- Lt-Gen Mohsin Kamal (retiring on Sep 21, 2011óhe has opted for a office job because of health issues)

7- Lt-Gen Jamil Haider (retiring on Sep 21, 2011 ñnever commanded any core)

8- Lt-Gen Nadeem Taj (retiring on Sep 21, 2011)

In case ISI chief General Pasha is given extension by the COAS, he will be on the 12th position and Chief of General Staff Lt-Gen Mustafa Khan will be on number 13 on the seniority list.

According to Gen Hamid, for being a suitable candidate to become COAS, command of a corps is almost a mandatory condition. Some experts say that the present seniority list is also the result of tactical and strategically planned promotions and appointments by ex-Army chief and military dictator General Pervez Musharraf.

These experts said that during Kayani’s tenure as COAS, appointments and promotions were made on merit. At the same time, they fear that any mistake by the political rulers of the country may lead to handing over the command of the Pakistan Army to someone very close to Musharraf.

These experts also say that while making recommendations for the next COAS, the issue of illegal allotment of agricultural farmhouse adjacent to that of former prime minister Shaukat Aziz at Chak Shahzad, could also be considered by the relevant influential circles.

These experts say that in fact the equally important appointment will be that of CJCSC. If he is taken from the Pakistan Air Force or the Pakistan Navy as per the democratic tradition, issues could be resolved amicably. Otherwise, if some junior-lieutenant general is promoted as general to make him the CJCSC, those senior to him will have to resign keeping in view the Army norms and that could possibly open a Pandora’s box which will pave the way for political appointments.

General Aslam Baig was of the view that the outgoing COAS sends a list of five senior lieutenant-generals to the federal government four months prior to his retirement, and the government can appoint anyone from this list keeping in view the criteria and cannot go beyond this list.

However, Lt Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz was of the view that the federal government had full powers only in case of appointment of the COAS, and it could appoint any of the senior lieutenant generals for the position.

Extensions do not need govt’s approval: Army

 

[sonicboom]

Kayani gives one more extension

Sunday, February 21, 2010

By Umar Cheema

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who previously extended the tenure of the corps commander, Peshawar, has now granted a one-year extension to another lieutenant general, as the DG ISI is the third in a row who is likely to be its recipient, all in a space of six months.

Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar confirmed to The News that he and Prime Minister Gilani had been intimated about the extension to the general serving with the UN. The minister was reluctant to discuss the nitty-gritty terming it a sensitive issue.

Lt-Gen Sikandar Afzal has received a one-year extension that will come into effect from March 1, the day he will retire from service. He is currently abroad serving on deputation with the United Nations Peace Mission. After commanding the peace troops in Liberia, he is now believed to be stationed in New York, United Nations’ headquarters. His official engagement abroad has been cited a reason for extension in service, a senior Army official privy to the development said.

The Army chief previously granted extension to the Corps Commander Peshawar, Lt-Gen Masood Alam, in November 2009. Sikandar is now second in the row and the DG ISI Ahmad Shuja Pasha retiring on March 18 is all set to receive one-year extension in no time.

The extension in lieutenant general’s service was made the prerogative of the Army chief during Gen Zia-ul-Haq’s time when he was COAS-president.

In Benazir Bhutto’s 2nd term in office, the issue again cropped up with the prime minister wanted to reclaim the lost authority of her office. But General Kakar had told Benazir Bhutto that the generals seeking extension would be running around the politicians in case the authority to do so was rested with the prime minister/president. Gen Kakar finally succeeded in retaining the authority of granting extension.

However, Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Nawaz, former secretary defence, said that the extension requires approval from the federal government and cited the example of extension to Lt-Gen Kidwai. “Granting extension is considered the prerogative of the Army chief but he sends a summary to the federal government that is rarely objected to,” he said. Same kind of views was echoed by former ISI head, Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Gul. Another former secretary defence, Kamran Rasool, who is the only civilian, headed this ministry, when contacted, said no extension was granted during his time hence he was not aware of the rules about it.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=27384

 

[fatman17]

can this be merged with the previous thread on CoAS extensions!

 

[sonicboom]

Newly-promoted general to head seniority list
Monday, February 22, 2010

By Ahmad Noorani

ISLAMABAD: The one-year extension given to Lieutenant General Sikandar has placed the promoted general on the top of the seniority list, making him eligible to become the next COAS in November this year, when General Kayani retires.

Defence analysts say because of the retirement of 12 three-star generals, including four corps commanders in the current year, an automatic but major reshuffle in the top Army command will come about in which some senior lieutenant generals could join the race to become the COAS by earning an opportunity to command a corps.

Lt General Sikandar Afzal was given extension of one year by the COAS, which has placed him at number one position in the seniority list, which possibly will be one of the main factors to be considered to name a replacement of Gen Kayani who retires on November 28, 2010.

Lt Gen Sikandar was born on March 3, 1952 and was promoted as lieutenant general on April 11, 2006. His tenure of four years as lieutenant general will complete on April 11, 2010 but he will attain the age of 58 on March 3, 2010, when he was supposed to retire.

Official United Nations documents show that Lt Gen Sikandar Afzal was appointed as Force Commander for the United Nations Mission in Liberia on October 23, 2009, a position which he was supposed to hold for one year. When he was being recommended for this assignment, only four months and 10 days were remaining in his retirement and now as the result of this extension he will be the senior-most general on the date of retirement of General Kayani.

According to the official UN website, Lt Gen Afzal had replaced Lt Gen ATM Zahirul Alam of Bangladesh, who was appointed on October 19, 2008 for one year. It says Lt Gen Afzal joined the Pakistani military in 1972. He has significant command experience, and prior experience with the United Nations peacekeeping.

“From 1996 to 2002, he commanded armoured and infantry brigades. In the period 2002 to 2004, he served as division commander in Sialkot and Lahore. Between 2004 and 2006, he served as the Director General for Strategic Analysis at Inter-Services Intelligence. Since 2006, Lieutenant General Afzal has been serving as corps commander, with responsibility for more than 30,000 military personnel,” the UN official website says.

It shows that Lt Gen Sikandar Afzal has an experience of commanding the Multan Corps for a period of three years and he also held important senior staff appointments, which make him eligible to be considered as the COAS.

The present seniority list includes Lt-Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne (retiring on March 8, 2011), Lt-Gen Muhammad Yousaf (retiring on March 8, 2011), Lt-Gen Syed Absar Hussain (retiring on March 8, 2011-never commanded any corps), Lt-Gen Javed Zia (retiring on Sep 21, 2011-never commanded any corps), Lt-Gen Shujaat Zamir Dar (retiring on Sep 21, 2011-never commanded any corps), Lt-Gen Mohsin Kamal (retiring on Sep 21, 2011, he has opted for a office job because of health issues), Lt-Gen Jamil Haider (retiring on Sep 21, 2011-never commanded any corps), Lt-Gen Nadeem Taj (retiring on Sep 21, 2011).

The senior-most, Lt Gen Wynne, is a batchmate of Lt Gen Sikandar Afzal and both belong to 1972 batch but Sikandar is senior to Wynne, which places him on the top of the list.

In the list of retiring generals this year, published by The News on Sunday, names of Lt Gen Sikandar Afzal and Lt Gen Sajjad Akram are missing. Sajjad Akram, who will also retire in next months is incumbent Deputy Chairman Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra).

Due to the current war on terror, the US has great interest and keeping a close watch on the appointment of the new COAS. In a strongly-worded denial of speculative reports of an offer of extension to General Kayani, the Ministry of Defence has denied any such development.

Newly-promoted general to head seniority list